Christianity and Norse Paganism existed side by side in Europe for many centuries, and these other pagan religions actually made serious inroads in Europe after the fall of the Roman Empire. Christians were displaced in Gaul, Britain and elsewhere, and the Norse Vikings raided monasteries and Christian settlements all along the European coastline from the 8th to 13th century. However, by the 10th and 11th centuries, Christianity was on the rise and other religions were declining across the north of Europe.
Nevertheless, the pagan beliefs in the north did not disappear immediately, and they did not go without a fight. It seems that in the late 11th century, the pagan beliefs went through one final renaissance in Sweden. One of the last great centers of Norse Paganism was at Old Uppsala, which had three large burial mounds that medieval sagas tied to the Norse gods:
“Thus he (Odin) established by law that all dead men should be burned, and their belongings laid with them upon the pile, and the ashes be cast into the sea or buried in the earth. Thus, said he, every one will come to Valhalla with the riches he had with him upon the pile; and he would also enjoy whatever he himself had buried in the earth. For men of consequence a mound should be raised to their memory, and for all other warriors who had been distinguished for manhood a standing stone; which custom remained long after Odin's time. [...] It was their faith that the higher the smoke arose in the air, the higher he would be raised whose pile it was; and the richer he would be, the more property that was consumed with him.” (Ynglinga saga)
The “royal mounds”
The importance of Old Uppsala was also described by the Christian Archbishop of Hamburg, Adam of Bremen, circa 1075-1080:
“Now we shall say a few words about the superstitions of the Swedes. That folk has a very famous temple called Uppsala [...] In this temple, entirely decked out in gold, the people worship the statues of three gods in such wise that the mightiest of them, Thor, occupies a throne in the middle of the chamber; Wotan and Frikko have places on either side. The significance of these gods is as follows: Thor, they say, presides over the air, which governs the thunder and lightning, the winds and rains, fair weather and crops. The other, Wotan -that is, the Furious--carries on war and imparts to man strength against his enemies. The third is Frikko, who bestows peace and pleasure on mortals. His likeness, too, they fashion with an immense phallus. But Wotan they chisel armed, as our people are wont to represent Mars. Thor with his scepter apparently resembles Jove. The people also worship heroes made gods, whom they endow with immortality because of their remarkable exploits...
“Near that temple is a very large tree with widespread branches which are always green both in winter and summer. What kind of tree it is nobody knows. There is also a spring there where the pagan are accustomed to perform sacrifices and to immerse a human being alive. As long as his body is not found, the request of the people will be fulfilled. A golden chain encircles that temple and hangs over the gables of the building. Those who approach see its gleam from afar off because the shrine, which is located on a plain, is encircled by mountains so situated as to give the effect of a theatre. For nine days feasts and sacrifices of this kind are celebrated. Every day they sacrifice one human being in addition to other animals, so that in nine days there are 72 victims which are sacrificed. This sacrifice takes place about the time of the vernal equinox…
“A general festival for all the provinces of Sweden is customarily held at Uppsala every nine years. Participation in this festival is required of everyone. Kings and their subjects, collectively and individually, send their gifts to Uppsala; - and – a thing more cruel than any punishment – those who have already adopted Christianity buy themselves off from these ceremonies. The sacrifice is as follows; of every kind of male creature, nine victims are offered. By the blood of these creatures it is the custom to appease the gods. Their bodies, moreover, are hanged in a grove which is adjacent to the temple. This grove is so sacred to the people that the separate trees in it are believed to be holy because of the death or putrefaction of the sacrificial victims. There even dogs and horses hang beside human beings. (A certain Christian told me that he had seen seventy-two of their bodies hanging up together.) The incantations, however, which are usually sung in the performance of a libation of this kind are numerous and disgraceful, and it is better not to speak of them.[36]”
While Adam of Bremen may not be a neutral figure, there is no motive or reason to explain why he would have invented the dominance of Thor in the temple at Old Uppsala. His account is evidence of the position of Thor in the 11th century, when he came to supersede his parents, Odin and Freya, in importance among believers. This may be because as the Heathen community was pressed by the advances of Christianity, the simple truths and confident aggression of Thor was a more appealing buttress than the esoteric lore and layers of symbols associated with Odin. As people turned from Odin's teachings, it probably became more and more difficult for those with an aptitude for the mystical to find teachers. The Norse relied heavily upon the oral transmission of their lore and often operated outside, not in closed temples. If so, direct generation-to-generation transmission stopped, and over time the knowledge was lost. In time, so was the ability for the Norse faith to compete intellectually with Christianity.
It is possible that the Poetic Edda, which was written during the final stages of the faith’s decline, was intended to be a text comparable to the Christian Bible. Perhaps most dramatically, there may have been a revival of Norse Kingship based around the central pilgrimage site of Uppsala in central Sweden, involving the construction of an impressive temple dedicated to the gods Odin, Thor and Frigg.[37] The last victory in battle to be attributed to the god was the Battle of Lena in 1208 when the Swedes pushed the Danes out of their land and claimed to have seen Odin leading the charge.[38]
Ultimately, it wasn’t enough. By the 11th century, Continental Europe was on the rise. 1066 brought the Norman French conquest of Saxon Britain, and the 11th century in general was a time of prosperity and power on the mainland known as the High Middle Ages. Christian-based political systems like feudalism served to first repel the Norse raiders and then began to take root in Scandinavia itself. The Christian kingdoms were based on fundamentally different assumptions, rituals and legal systems than the Heathen ones, and the weakening of the Germanic system of governance also led to a weakening of the Heathen faith. In general, the Christian kingdoms were more autocratic, centralized and gave more power to the Crown and the nobility, thereby stripping commoners of many of their traditional rights. Of course, Scandinavian kings seeking to compete with those in France and Germany were attracted to these legal and religious innovations as well.[39]
Religiously, there is a stark difference between the understanding of the world found in Heathenism and that in Christianity. Perhaps suitable to a land of harsh, long winters and often-stormy seas, the Heathens viewed the universe as ultimately mysterious and outside of the complete control of anyone, even the gods. While the Norse gods die at the end, they do not do so as a sacrifice to the world or as a choice but because it is their unshakable destiny to do so. The death of Odin is the fulfillment of his godhood.[40]
In contrast, Jehovah is an omnipotent, omniscient god who has created everything and rules everything. The Norse likely did not wonder why bad things happen to good people because they knew that despite their best efforts, the gods cannot protect everything and everyone. In contrast, Christians have to struggle with that same idea because God is all-powerful. Christians believe Christ sacrificed himself to renew the world - an act that seems on the surface similar to the death and resurrection of Balder - but his act was a conscious choice. In fact, it was one he seems to struggle with in his final hours.
It is difficult to know exactly how these differences resonated with the Heathen Norse. While some Norse certainly converted out of a true belief, it’s likely that m many "conversions" were half-hearted or short-lived affairs, and that the conversion of the entire region was a slow process. While traditional Heathenism ceased to exist as a community religion somewhere between the 11th and 12th centuries, Christianity was slow to take root in the North and left behind many remnants in the popular folklore, as well as in the creative imagination of the people.
Most of the widespread folk beliefs about Odin have disappeared over the centuries, but he continues to be remembered today, at times unwittingly. The name "Wednesday" is derived from the old Saxon word "Wotan's Day.", and in the Orkney Islands off the north coast of Scotland, Odinic beliefs held on longer than elsewhere. Numerous places are named for the god, and until the 19th century there was a standing stone traditionally dedicated to him. Odin was considered to be the patron of oaths, and this tradition continued in Orkney. Participants would clasp each other’s hands through a hole in the stone and recite an oath whose words are now lost to time, but in a ballad from the islands it is said that two lovers met:
“An swore bae him dat hang on tree' to marry her He bragged near and far he won his wife bae Odin's Aith” (“And swore by him that hung on the tree to marry her He bragged near and far he won his wife by Odin's Oath”)
The reference "him that hung on the tree" appears to be a nod to the story of Odin's nine days hanging from Yggdrasil to gain wisdom. This event is also apparently referenced in a traditional rhyme from the islands: "Nine lang nichts i' da nippin rime,/Hange he dare wi' naked limb" ("Nine long nights in the nipping rime, Hung he there with naked limbs").[41]
One piece of Odinic folklore that survived until relatively recently was that of the Wild Hunt. A belief that is found throughout Europe, the Wild Hunt is a ghostly horde of men, horses and hounds that rages across the skies and sometimes land in isolated areas. It always has a well-known leader, and seeing it is a terrible omen of dark days to come. While the story of the Hunt varies across time and space, Odin is one of the oldest leaders and is found throughout Northern Europe[42]. This may be related to Odin's roles as the god of wind, of war, of the dead and of omen and prophecy. Perhaps because of its demonic appearance, this belief continued long after the Christianization of Scandinavia.
Odin has also occasionally appeared in popular culture in the 20th century, and this is one of the reasons why he is still relatively well-known in the English-speaking world. His son, Thor, has been the primary character in a line of comics by Marvel, but Odin and other gods have also appeared in supporting roles, including in the action film Thor (2011). Odin was also a prominent character in Richard Wagner's operatic cycle Der Ring des Nibelungen (The Ring of the Nibelung), where he is known as Wotan. Wagner’s work is based loosely off of Norse and German myths.
One modern Odin-figure that has become quite popular is the character of Gandalf from the Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien. Tolkien was a scholar of early Germanic mythology, so the connection should be of no surprise. Gandalf was an immortal god-like being who traveled Middle Earth as an old man in gray robes, a wide-brimmed hat and a staff. Gandalf brought aid and wisdom to the good peoples of the books. Through Gandalf, this stereotype has taken on life in many areas of 20th and 21st century fantasy fiction.
Another 20th century development has been the return of organized Heathenism, which is often referred to as "Odinism" despite the worship of the entire Norse Pantheon. While there was some interest in Heathenism in Nazi Germany, the first group to attempt a serious revival outside of that context was, fittingly, an Icelandic group. Called Ásatrú ("Faith in the Aesir"), they started in the 1960s and quickly expanded in Northern Europe. Today there are numerous branches of this body, as well as spin-off organizations which hail the name of Odin. The largest group of "Neo-Heathens" in the United States is known as the Troth, a breakaway from the Ásatrú Folk Assembly that is well known for its historic research. Other groups include the Odinic Rite and Theodism in Britain. These groups have attempted to reconstruct the blót tradition, as well as a more ambitious attempt to rebuild the mystical tradition of divination they call "Seiðr". Many even wear Mjolnir pendants.
A particularly interesting group is the Odin Brotherhood. The Brotherhood claims to be a direct descendant of traditional Heathenism, which was forced underground in the 15th century and has only recently re-emerged into the public eye. Hailing Odin above all, they promote the values of “knowledge, freedom, and power,” all of which would have been well-known to the historic followers of Odin.[43] In particular, these people seek to crack the "Mystery of the Three," the term they use for the mystical knowledge codified into the number three (and its multiples) in Odinic tales.